A few questions...

[Kuma]

Hey guys, I got some question( I just started mapping!!! )

What software to use?
How to change the location of the Spawn point
How can I make good textured oceans
Any Tips?

I have made a Map Here : http://filesmelt.com/dl/clffwars.vxl

I used Bildramers Bitmap Converter, And Gimp and voxed for viewing

(Note: The was made for testing and I don't intend to use it for any purpose..)

[Buffet_of_Lies]

Well, that's certainly a decent start. Some screenshots really help, though.


To, for example, make the water in the channel between your cliffs, you could load your map into Pyspades Map Editor and just go onto the lowest level and paint it blue or something. Another thing you can do with that editor is copy and paste an image file into that layer as well if you wanted a more watery ocean-like texture. Then, of course, resave it.

Other things you could do would be to make a KVX tree model in Slab6 and load that into voxed with the U command. You move it around with the numpad keys.

I also suggest perhaps checking out some of the tutorials we have up. For the most part you are using everything you really need to use, it's just up to your own personal preference how complicated and detailed you want to be. Most people use a different combinaton of programs to do certain things to their maps and give them their own unique character.

[Influx]

What software to use?
Personally, I use exactly what you used to make that example map - GIMP for the heightmap and colourmap, and Bildramer's Bitmap Converter to assemble the map. Using Slab6 or similar (like Blockman2D or Qubicle*) is recommended so you can build .kvx models which can be inserted into your map through Voxed by pressing the 'U' key.

*Note: Only the paid version of Qubicle can be used to export in the .kvx format.

How to change the location of the Spawn point
It's not possible in the vanilla PySnip server code, as far as I'm aware. This can be done by making a new script, though, although it really should be part of the map extensions code.

How can I make good textured oceans
Although I don't really have much water in my maps, I would use one of the following methods;

- Create a plain blue layer in GIMP, draw wavy lines in a new layer on top of it in a darker colour, adjust transparency until I'm happy. Add some HSV noise to both layers.
- Google "Water Textures" and plop it on top in GIMP. For bonus points, go Map > Make Seamless, which means it tiles nicely at the map edges.

Any Tips?
Far too many to list here at once without it becoming a horrible wall of text. All I'll say is don't be afraid to try something different, and try to let your heightmaps do as much work as possible (like for walls/grassy fields/etc.). It can save you a lot of time in the long run.

Also, and the biggest tip I can give; Download Voxed Companion - it makes Voxed so much more easy to use in my opinion. Note that, since the old AoS wiki went down, this is the best source for download I could find which may or may not be the latest update.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.

[Buffet_of_Lies]

Dayum, Influx, we are getting good at condensing this info into as few typed sentences as possible aren't we? I want to recommend we use what you just wrote up there for the Welcome to BuildNShoot FAQ thingy.

[Influx]

We're like a question-answering tag-team. Guess we've had a lot of practice at answering these sorts of questions, and sure, feel free to use my useless nuggets of information as you see fit!

[Kuma]

What software to use?
Personally, I use exactly what you used to make that example map - GIMP for the heightmap and colourmap, and Bildramer's Bitmap Converter to assemble the map. Using Slab6 or similar (like Blockman2D or Qubicle*) is recommended so you can build .kvx models which can be inserted into your map through Voxed by pressing the 'U' key.

*Note: Only the paid version of Qubicle can be used to export in the .kvx format.

How to change the location of the Spawn point
It's not possible in the vanilla PySnip server code, as far as I'm aware. This can be done by making a new script, though, although it really should be part of the map extensions code.

How can I make good textured oceans
Although I don't really have much water in my maps, I would use one of the following methods;

- Create a plain blue layer in GIMP, draw wavy lines in a new layer on top of it in a darker colour, adjust transparency until I'm happy. Add some HSV noise to both layers.
- Google "Water Textures" and plop it on top in GIMP. For bonus points, go Map > Make Seamless, which means it tiles nicely at the map edges.

Any Tips?
Far too many to list here at once without it becoming a horrible wall of text. All I'll say is don't be afraid to try something different, and try to let your heightmaps do as much work as possible (like for walls/grassy fields/etc.). It can save you a lot of time in the long run.

Also, and the biggest tip I can give; Download Voxed Companion - it makes Voxed so much more easy to use in my opinion. Note that, since the old AoS wiki went down, this is the best source for download I could find which may or may not be the latest update.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.

OK thanks Influx and Lies, I understood but what about scripting, I know a bit of python where are the tutorials for scripting?
And Other question is that in bildramers bitmap editor I know that black is water level and white is the topmost layer.
What color would i use for different heights? Is there some kind of formula or something

[Jdrew]

use a color picker in the software to pick in from the image once it is opened in the software, I use paint.net personally

[Kuma]

use a color picker in the software to pick in from the image once it is opened in the software, I use paint.net personally

Ahh.. Thanks! Though I like gimp, I like it because it is much easier to do certain things on gimp then on paint.net.